QUT research, published in UNICEF's new report on the impact of games, shows that playing video games helps children feel competent and empowered and helps them connect with others. They say it may help children improve their well-being, including feeling more socially connected.
UNICEF's report was released today and the Australian part is based on QUT research led by Professor Daniel Johnson from the ARC Center of Excellence for the Digital Child, QUT School of Computer Science and QUT Games Research and Interaction Design Lab. Masu.
The study was unusual because it used tracking devices such as heart rate sensors and eye-tracking software to monitor children's real-time reactions to video games.
The researchers believe their approach could help game designers assess the impact of games on children's well-being.
Professor Johnson said the QUT study involved 68 Brisbane children aged seven to 13 and was funded by UNICEF and the Lego Foundation.
“Video games are part of children's daily lives, but we don't know enough about children's experiences as video game players,” Professor Johnson said.
“In our study, we collected data from children through gameplay sessions featuring two popular titles: Rocket League and LEGO Builder's Journey.”
The researchers collected a variety of data, including heart rate, galvanic skin response, facial expressions, and eye tracking, and recorded what the children said.
This data was analyzed and matched to human emotions related to happiness.
“We found clear evidence that playing these two games positively contributes to children's well-being in terms of developing competence, emotional regulation, self-actualization, empowerment, creativity, and social connectedness. '' Professor Johnson said.
“Based on the responses we tracked, both games had a positive impact on their health.
“Our study demonstrated how collecting psychosocial data during game play can identify a wide range of emotional and physiological states in children.
“We believe this type of tracking data has the potential to provide even more insights than what we examined in our study. For example, we believe that it is possible to identify strategic plays through eye-tracking data. We have noticed that the more strategic players in Rocket League are looking around the field, whereas the less strategic players are mainly focused on their avatar (car) and the ball. It looked like he was watching his opponents and teammates.
The children who participated in the study were also asked to help the researchers interpret the data, becoming not only gamers but also “co-researchers.”
“What set this study apart was its focus on empowering children as active participants in the research process,” Professor Johnson said.
“We focused the data from the children's perspective by asking participants to watch recordings of themselves playing the game and review the data we collected.
“This allowed our research team to gain further insight into children's experiences.
“We found that children made insightful observations when we helped them interpret the data. It gave us more context about the data we were collecting.”
UNICEF's full report, Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children, is available online.
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